SPX 2016 Panel - Richard Thompson: A Celebration of His Life and Art

Richard Thompson (1957-2016)—one of his generation's greatest cartoonists and caricaturists—was beloved by readers and fellow artists alike. Pat Oliphant called him "Michelangelo with a sense of humor," and Bill Watterson, who had not said anything publicly in almost 20 years, sent out a note crediting Thompson with "giving me a reason to read the comics again." A short documentary celebrating Thompson's art and generous spirit is followed by a conversation among Thompson's long-time intimates—his close friend and fellow cartoonist Nick Galifianakis, Shena Wolf, who is the Uclick acquisitions editor and was Richard's editor on Cul De Sac, as well as friend and art historian David Apatoff—concluding with questions and reflections from the audience. Moderated by publisher (Lost Art Books) and editor of the forthcoming Richard Thompson Library series, Joseph Procopio.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Due to the possibility of a hurricane this weekend, Richard Thompson, Cartoonist and Illustrator - A Tribute has been moved to a later date.

Richard Thompson, creator of the comic strip Cul de Sac, passed away from complications of Parkinson's disease this summer. Learn more about this Reuben Award-winning artist through a screening of the 2014 documentary The Art of Richard Thompson and a presentation on Thompson's background and accomplishments by one of the late cartoonist's friends.

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Tipped off by Nick Galifianakis, I poked around a bit more last night and found the images that Richard drew to illustrate Tony Kornheiser's columns on the Redskin's winning season and his idea of a Redskin Bandwagon. I found drawings from October - January, and don't know if I caught them all.

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Richard did this "I'm on the Redskins Bandwagon" handkerchief in 1991 for Tony Kornheiser's Washington Post column.

Here's the relevant information from TK's Wikipedia page: "In 1991, Kornheiser created a string of now-famous Bandwagon columns to describe the Washington Redskins' Super Bowl run that year.[7] He started the idea when the Redskins trounced the Detroit Lions 41-10. He officially unveiled the first Bandwagon column when the team had an undefeated 4-0 record. From then on, the Bandwagon column appeared weekly. When the Redskins advanced to Super Bowl XXVI, Kornheiser and his Post colleagues Jeanne McManus and Norman Chad rode a handcar on a railroad track decorated as the Bandwagon for a 1,200-mile journey to Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A Washington Post chat from January 26, 2012 has a picture of the artwork decorating an RV and quotes TK,“We had t-shirts made that we gave out with the great sort of drawings of Richard Thompson on the t shirts. We had handkerchiefs made — get on the bandwagon — whatever those things were. I have a t-shirt somewhere that’s mildewed and disgusting, and I have some of these handkerchiefs somewhere."

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Richard Thompson (1957-2016)—one his generation's greatest cartoonists and caricaturists—was beloved by readers and fellow artists alike. Pat Oliphant called him "Michelangelo with a sense of humor," and Bill Watterson, who had not said anything publicly in almost 20 years, sent out a note crediting Thompson with "giving me a reason to read the comics again." A short documentary celebrating Thompson's art and generous spirit will be followed by a conversation among Thompson's long-time intimates—his close friend and fellow cartoonist Nick Galifianakis, Shena Wolf, who is the Uclick acquisitions editor and was Richard's editor on Cul De Sac, as well as friend and art historian David Apatoff—concluding with an opportunity for questions and reflections from the audience. Moderated by publisher (Lost Art Books) and editor of the forthcoming Richard Thompson Library series, Joseph Procopio.